A Different World
by NSW
Summary: Complete! Harry never lived at the Dursley's, in fact, he has no idea who they are. Taken in by a mean couple, taught to fight and steal, Harry spent ten long years on the street, until one day, he discovers he was meant for so much more
1. The Chapter aimed to confuse!

A Different World  
  
Summary:  
  
Harry never lived at the Dursley's, infact, he has no idea who they are. Taken in by a mean couple, taught to fight and steal, Harry spent ten long years on the street, until one day, he meets an old man with a beard and half-moon glasses telling him that this wasn't the life he was meant for. AU  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd be writting book five instead of this.  
  
~~~  
  
"Hey! Stop! Kid!!!" a man yelled, suddenly realising his wallet was missing, and that a scrawny little black haired kid was running away with it. Seven year old Harry Potter ran, and ran, and ran. The man swore, knowing he couldn't catch the kid now... stupid muggle brats. Severus Snape ducked into an alley and apparated, still swearing at his absence of luck.  
  
Harry leaned against a wall in an alley, breathing hard, and took out the wallet and counted the money. 100 dollars in american money (Aria would get it exchanged later), he hadn't been that lucky in a while. He stuffed half in his pocket, and took the other half back to Artemis and Aria.  
  
~~~  
  
Eight Years Later.  
  
~~~  
  
"SHADOW!" Harry turned from Draco toward the road to Hogsmead to see a very angry girl running at him. She looked to be about 19.  
  
"Oh no," Harry whispered, completely ignoring everyone else. She lept at him, tackling him to the ground. He automatically flipped her, and jumped to her feet. "What do you want?" he hissed.  
  
"The same thing I wanted last time, and everytime before that," she replied, throwing a kick.  
  
"Then you're going to get the same answer you got every other time- NO!" Harry growled ducking it.  
  
"I won't, and more importantly can't take no for an answer, Shadow! You know that!" she replied.  
  
"Don't call me that," Harry said coldly, "That's not who I am anymore."  
  
"But it's who you were. You can't run, or hide, from your past! If I can find you, so can they. Think about that for a minute, Shadow," she replied.  
  
Harry clenched his teeth, "This, Wolf, is my life now. What I used to be doesn't matter. My answer is still no, so why don't you just go now and save yourself the trouble of loosing this again!"  
  
"Fine, Shadow. Fine. You win for now. But think about what I said, 'kay kid?" she sighed finally. Harry nodded.  
  
"Good luck," they said at the same time. She turned and left. Harry watched her disappear over the hill, then he turned around and walked the other way, not even hearing the questions hurled at him by Ron and Hermione, or noticing the odd look on Malfoy's face.  
  
"Harry! HARRY!" Hermione and Ron yelled, running after him. He stopped and waited for them to catch up.  
  
"What was that about? Who was that girl?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Nothing... no one... It doesn't matter anymore," Harry said absently.  
  
"Why did she tackled you? How'd you flip her like that?" Ron asked, only to get smacked.  
  
"Because she's Wolf. I flipped her out of instinct," Harry kept walking, lost in thought, "Er, no offense, but I just need to think by myself for a little while." They left and Harry continued to wander around by the lake.  
  
"Was she the reason you alway refuse to fight?" a harsh voice asked behind him.  
  
"That's really none of your business," Harry said evenly.  
  
"I'll decided what's my business, Potter," Malfoy said coldly.  
  
"Well, decide quickly that this is not your business," Harry said, and walked away.  
  
"Don't turn your back on me when I'm talking to you!" Malfoy fumed.  
  
"Too late, Malfoy, I already have," Harry replied, not turned, and still walking. Harry ended up near the front gates. He stared down the lane, looking at the hill that she had disappeared over.  
  
'She was right you know,' a little voice said in the back of his head, 'You can't run from them forever.' Harry sighed, having decided that loosing an arguement with himself would leave his sanity in serious question... not that there were some who questioned it already.  
  
"I can sure as hell try," he said to himself, before going inside. "I can sure as hell try."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Well! Now that I've managed to royally confuse all of you, I'm going to stop for now!  
  
P.S. Anyone know how to get the bold and italics and underlines to actually stay... along with all things centered? I'd really love to know... it would have me a ton of frustrated yelling at the computer. Thanks!  
  
P.P.S Since it's an AU, you'll get little flashbacks and such to learn what did and didn't happen his first few years of school- not all of it's the same.  
  
N.S.W. 


	2. The Chapter aimed to lessen the confusio...

A Different World

Summary: 

Harry never lived at the Dursley's, in fact; he has no idea who they are.  Taken in by a mean couple, taught to fight and steal, Harry spent ten long years on the street, until one day, he meets an old man with a beard and half-moon glasses telling him that this wasn't the life he was meant for.  AU

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd be writing book five instead of this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five years earlier

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry was running.  Again.  This time though, he had the misfortune to run directly into someone.

"Sorry," Harry muttered, picking himself up.

"Quite alright, Harry.  You seem to be going somewhere in quite a hurry," a bemused voice said.

"Who are you, how do you know my name?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"My name is Albus Dumbledore."

"That still doesn't explain how you know my name."

"I realize that.  Come with me and I will explain it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Tomorrow we are starting a House exchange program," Dumbledore announced after dinner one day in late November a month later, "Students were picked randomly, one boy and one girl from each house in every year to a house designated by the Sorting Hat.  The list of exchanged students is in your common rooms.  If you were chosen, please see your head of house."  Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny quickly went to make sure they weren't on the list.

Inter-House Exchange Program

Name, house assigned to

Program lasts for the entire month of December

1st years

Morgan Lancaster, Hufflepuff

Travis Jones, Ravenclaw

2nd years

Terri Lane, Slytherin

Mac Rogers, Hufflepuff

3rd years

Cassy Hures, Ravenclaw

Paul Rees, Hufflepuff

4th Years

Virginia Weasley, Slytherin

Todd Richards, Ravenclaw

5th Years

Lavender Brown, Ravenclaw

Harry Potter, Slytherin

6th Years

Melissa Gregors, Hufflepuff

Tom Parkins, Ravenclaw

7th Years

George Weasley, Slytherin

Alicia Spinnet, Hufflepuff

Harry, Ginny and George looked at each other.  "WHAT?!" They cried at the same time.  Harry sunk into a near by chair.  

"Great.  Just great.  Stuck in the same dorm with Malfoy for a month!!" he groaned.  Hermione and Ron looked sympathetic, but glad it wasn't them.  "Somebody seriously has it in for me," he muttered to himself, "Other than Voldemort anyway..."

 ~~~

Two days later, Harry woke up to green curtains.  Groaning softly, he remembered where he was and why.  "And I was so hoping it was all in my head," he muttered, "Oh well."  He got dressed and headed downstairs without waking anyone else up- the less he had to see them the better.

"Potter!" Draco yelled.  'So much for not waking anyone else up,' Harry thought with a sigh.

"What?" Harry snapped.

"What the hell was with that girl?"  Apparently it had been bugging Draco all this time.

"I really doubt Wolf would appreciate you calling her a girl, she takes more offense to that than most boys do.  Besides, Wolf is none of your business," Harry snapped, really not wanting to deal with Malfoy this early.  Not that he ever wanted to deal with Malfoy to begin with.

"Oh, did I get on Perfect Potter's nerves?" Draco sneered.

"What ever you think you know about me, forget it.  If you're going to be that blind to everything, I'd waste my time even trying to explain anything- not that I want to anyway.  So leave me the hell alone, got it Malfoy?  You can't understand so stop trying," Harry said coldly.  Luckily, George came down before it could escalate higher, and steered Harry into the Great Hall, Ginny following with Terri.  The four of them had made a pact to stick together- even if that did defeat the purpose of the house exchange.

"Hey, Terri, you ok?" Harry asked.  The fourth member of their group had been rather quiet.

"Just a little paranoid I'm going to get cursed or something," she replied shyly.

"You and me both," he replied, eating, "You know, I almost wish people would treat me like they used to."

"Which is?" George asked with a raised eyebrow, wondering what the younger boy would answer.

"Completely ignored me.  Even if they did see me, they all pretended like they didn't.  I preferred that they didn't see me, actually," Harry said, staring off into space.  The others exchanged looks.

"You actually like that?" Terri asked.  He shrugged.

"It's what I'm used to.  Aside from Voldemort, that's what I hate most about the wizarding world- my fame.  It's the opposite of what I grew up around," Harry explained.  They ate in silence for the rest of breakfast, and then headed off to their respective classes (Double potions for Harry, Charms for Ginny, Transfiguration for George, and DADA for Terri).

Potions, Harry had re-decided by the end of that class, was a real bitch.  Not only did Malfoy bug him the entire class period, for things ranging from "How're the weasel and the mudblood? [Shut it ferret boy]" to "Who the hell is Wolf and what the hell was she talking about? [I _said_ shut it ferret boy, it's not your business]" All in all, Harry was not in a good mood by the time he reached transfiguration.  Then Malfoy walked in the door, and made it all ten times worse.  Harry had nearly forgotten he had every class with Malfoy.  Harry groaned, then glared at anyone other then Professor McGonagall that came within ten feet of him, not wanting to give Malfoy the opportunity to taunt him more, and not wanting anyone else to take Malfoy's place at 'who can annoy me the most today?'  Harry sincerely hoped he wasn't crazy by the end of the day, and wondered how he was going to survive the rest of the month.  Or whether or not Malfoy would survive the month.

By lunch, Harry was fully prepared to hex the hell out of anyone that pestered him in the least.  

Charms hadn't gone well either.

"How did you survive the morning?" Ginny asked when she sat down, oblivious to his mood.

"If Malfoy makes one more dumb ass remark, I will curse him into next week!" Harry growled.

"That well, huh?" she replied sarcastically.  He nodded and stabbed at his chicken, pretending it was Malfoy's head.  George saved the poor chicken from being mutilated more by distracting Harry with a Quidditch question.

"Gryffindor has two matches this month, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.  What do you think they're going to do missing their seeker and half their beaters?"  Harry looked up.

"I have no idea," he said, starting to look worried, "We can't afford to lose two matches!  We have a reserve beater- that third year, but he's not as good as you and Fred, and I don't think they can work the same with each other.  And we don't have a reserve seeker.  We really need to get one of those, there's been too many incidents that we lost because I couldn't play."  Harry finished eating and decided to contemplate the Quidditch dilemma later.  After all, he had CoMC next, then Divinatation.  Oh well, at least he would get to see Ron and Hermione.

Harry was nearly smoking at the ears by the time CoMC was over.  Just as he turned to go back up to the school, yelling made him turn around.

"SHADOW!!!!!"  Harry whirled.  Wolf was running toward him, bleeding quite badly.

"Wolf!" he cried, "Wolf, what happened?"

"Dante and his thugs- the Black Riders.  They're wizards.  They must have followed me to Hogsmeade.  I just got away," she gasped.  Harry did some very colorful swearing.

"Wizard street fighters slash pickpockets.  Wonderful.  C'mon on, let's get you to the hospital wing," Harry said, supporting her.

"No, you don't understand.  They're coming this way- right now!" she cried.  Harry swore quite violently at this.

~~~~~

Yay! Hope this will make you all (a little) less confused!  Sorry for the cliffhanger!!

Thanks to:

serena cherry :-D thanks!!  I appreciate any and all help on getting reviews!

Fire-Mage thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!!! I'm trying it and seeing if it works right now.  If it does, I'm gonna reload the first chapter like this too.

Xirleb70 thanks!! I love your story, and I'm really glad you like mine!

Nexus hehehe, that's pretty much how I meant it… although I didn't think it was that confusing until I reread it and saw how little info I gave you guys… oh well, here's a little more!

Chikujin I updated!!! Thanks for reviewing!

~NSW~


	3. The Chapter that may lessen the confusio...

Chapter 3

"What are we going to do?" Wolf asked.

"Get you healed.  There is no way in hell we can take on all of them when you're only at half strength and I'm rusty.  So we're going to get you healed- now!" Harry ordered, pulling her to the hospital wing.  Part way there, Harry and Wolf ran into Professor Snape, literally.  

"Where are you going, Potter, shouldn't you be in class?" Snape hissed.

"The hospital wing.  If you can't tell, she's bleeding," Harry snapped, walking off, Wolf following.  Snape bristled, and looked ready to take points off, until Harry calmly reminded him that taking points off Harry would be taking points off his own house.  Snape stalked off, with every intention of getting Albus, and getting to the bottom of this.

"Mr. Potter!  What's going on?" Madame Pomfrey asked as he burst into the wing.

"She's hurt," he said simply.  Immediately she began fussing.  Harry rolled his eyes behind her back, but soon Wolf was healed, and they were running for the front doors.  Reaching them, they were stopped by Dumbledore and Snape.

"I don't have time for this," Harry groaned, "Professors, I really do not have time to explain anything.  C'mon Wolf."  She followed him as Harry rushed out.  The two looked at each other and hurried out after them.  Only one person was coming up the hill.

"ShadowWolf," Dante acknowledged coldly.

"What do you want?" Harry asked wearily, ignoring the use of the old name for now, while he wondered where the other Black Riders were, he felt better that they had much better odds.

"Now, now, don't be like that ShadowWolf, I was your second in command, remember?" Dante said mock-sweetly.  Harry glared.

"That's right, _NightWolf_, _was_.  But you betrayed us, remember?" Harry replied coldly.

"It's NightRider now, ShadowWolf," Dante snapped.

"And it's just Shadow to you," Harry snapped back.

"Ah... that's right, you left them too," Dante sneered.

"Just because I can't be around them as much any more doesn't make me any less a Wolf.  If you're still bitter about not taking my place, that's your problem.  You betrayed us long before I made my decision.  I picked WolfSong because she was more able to handle it, and still is, got it?" Harry said.  Dante snarled then did something Dumbledore and Snape didn't expect- he shifted into a large black wolf, snapping at Harry.

"Oh no you don't!" Wolf cried, shifting into a large gray wolf with a mark above her left eye.  Harry tilted his head and squinted, yep, it still looked like a musical note when you looked at it that way.  The two wolves leapt at each other.  After a few minutes, Harry had had enough.  He shifted into a dark gray, almost black wolf with a lightning bolt shaped patch of white fur on his forehead.  Harry was larger then the other two, and he growled furiously.  They both shifted back, and after a moment Harry did the same.  He was a bit dizzy.

"Whoa... I haven't done that in a long time," Harry said, steadying himself, he shook his head, then focused back on Dante and Wolf.  "Now stop that.  You've said what you wanted, Dante, so go.  Now." Harry ordered in a way only the Head Wolf could.  Dante didn't like his odds, and left, vowing to return, however.  Harry watched him go with a sigh.  Wolf patted him on the shoulder, but Harry turned and went back inside without saying a word.  Wolf sighed as well.

"What just happened?" Snape asked, slightly dazed.

"Harry used to be called ShadowWolf.  He and Dante started the Wolves, a group mainly made up of misfit underage wizards and witches.  Of course none of us knew what we were until Harry got his Hogwarts letter.  But I got off the subject.  He and Dante started the Wolves, Harry was the Head Wolf, and Dante, called NightWolf, was his second in command.  Moonlight, WolfStalker and myself were the first three real recruits.  The most members we had was about 20.  But suddenly, Dante changed.  He started a feud between us, and did the worse thing possible to Harry.  He crippled him.  It was only temporary, thank god," she said.  

"Crippling is not the worst you can do to someone," Snape said with a sneer.

"When you depend on your ability to run and use your hands to survive, getting crippled is the worst thing that could happen," Wolf shot back, "As I said, it was temporary, but still, it was the last straw.  Harry kicked Dante out.  He formed the Black Riders with those that were more loyal to Dante then the Wolves.  Now, I have to go find Harry and tell him some news."  She went inside, and asked the first student she saw if he knew who Harry Potter was.  The Hufflepuff looked at her like she was nuts.

"Of course I know who Harry Potter is!  If you're looking for him, he went down that hall.  I think he was headed for the dungeons," he replied.  Wolf took off running.  She finally caught up to him just as he opened the wall to go into the common room.

"Oi, Harry," she called.  He looked up, and she hurried over.

"What's going on?  Dante didn't come back, did he?" Harry asked quickly.

"No, nothing like that.  I didn't get a chance to tell you before, but Artemis and Aria are dead," she said, waiting to see his reaction.  He looked at her strangely for a minute.

"Really?  Then... we're free?" he asked.  She nodded slowly, a grin forming.  Harry looked so relieved.  "I've been so paranoid all these years..." He grinned, trailing off.  "I suppose I should feel at least a little sorry... but we're free!!"  

"We're finally free," she agreed, as Harry crushed her in a hug.  "Shadow- Air-" she gasped out.  Harry blushed and muttered an apology.  "It's ok, HW!"

"I'm not Head Wolf you know, that's your job now," he said.

"I'm still second in command around you," she said.  Harry groaned.

"I gave that up!" he said.  She remarked that she knew, but didn't care.  He just groaned and motioned for her to go inside.  She did, ignoring the stares.

"Hey, Harry, what's going on, who's this?" George asked.

"This is Wolf.  I'll explain everything later.  Wolf, you can't stay in Hogsmead.  Dante will be watching for you.  I know you can fight, but the odds-"

"Are crap, I know.  Where am I going to stay then?" she asked.

"Um, maybe Dumbledore would let you stay in the Gryffindor dorm with Hermione... We should go asked, come on," he said, and they headed off for Dumbledore's office.  After five minutes of guessing, they got the right password (Candy hearts) and went up.  Knocking on the door, Harry waited for the usual enter.  It came, and they went in.

"Professor?  Would it be ok if Wolf stayed for a couple days until we figure out what to do with Dante?" Harry asked.

"I see no reason why not.  She will be announced at a visitor that's staying in-"

"Gryffindor, with Hermione," Harry said.

"That's staying in the Gryffindor fifth year girl's dorm," Dumbledore finished.

"Great.  Who's Hermione?" Wolf asked.  Harry took Wolf to the Gryffindor common room, explained things to Ron and Hermione, and left Wolf with them.

"Well, Harry, what's going on?" Ginny asked as Harry finally got back.

"Wolf, she's an old friend of mine.  We- well... myself and one other person started a group of, well, basically misfits who had magic but didn't know.  My supposed friend left, and I came to Hogwarts, so Wolf headed the group in my place," Harry said, knowing that didn't help one bit.  George, Terri and Ginny all voiced that.  Harry sighed, promising to explain better later, once he figured out how.  They agreed for now.

Thankfully, classes went better the next day (mainly because Malfoy had been too lost in thought trying to figure out Wolf to bother him).    At lunch, Wolf sat by Harry and they discussed the rest of the Wolves.

"Moonlight is in the hospital getting stitches, WolfStalker is my second, he's taken over for the moment, SilverWolf is ok, so are NightShade, WolfMoon and Howl.  We have five new recruits: two boys and three girls.  None have earned their names yet, so they're just Pups 1-5.  That's all we have right now, but Dante doesn't have much more either.  The six Wolves, seven including me, eight including you, plus the pups are only two less then Dante's Riders.  He has fifteen, and one is your spy, SpyMoon, so only one on us anyway.  Not bad odds," she said.  Harry agreed.

"Why do you two keep talking about odds?" Terri asked.

"If a fight goes down, you want the better odds, simple as that," Harry replied.  Terri nodded in understanding.

"Shadow... do you think we should move the Wolves from London to here?" Wolf asked.

"I don't kn-" Harry started, but Wolf cut him off.

"How will you be able to go down to the village with out having to watch your back at all times?"

"Wolf, it's not that simp-"

"Potter."

"What do you want now, Malfoy?" Harry asked exasperatedly, "I'm in the middle of something."  Malfoy grumbled something and stalked off.  

"Shadow, even if you don't want the fight moved here, it was bound to happen!  Dante hates you for what happened; you know that as well as I do.  At least with the rest of the Wolves here, the odds-"

"Won't be crap.  I know, I know.  Just give me sometime to think about it, ok?" Harry sighed.

"Fine.  But I'm heading back to London after this meal to round everyone up."

"What if I said no?" Harry cried.

"They're coming anyway.  Dante's all of our problem, Shadow.  We have to do something," she said.

"All right.  But be careful and be quick.  Promise me that WolfSong," Harry said.

"I promise, ShadowWolf," she said.

"Good luck and wolf's speed," he whispered as she left.  Harry was antsy the rest of the day, unable to concentrate.  He felt like he did the first couple weeks after he left, wondering if he had made the right decision, wondering if everyone would be ok, just wondering.

* * *

Harry was immensely relieved when a pack of seven wolves came, five with riders ages 7-11, after Care of Magical Creatures the next day.  The five that were riding got off, and stood hesitantly to the side.  The seven wolves transformed into Wolf (Song), WolfStalker, Moonlight, SilverWolf, NightShade, Howl, and WolfMoon.  Through the eyes of the Hogwarts students, they were the most rag-tag group they had ever seen.

Wolf (Song) was 19 with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail and dark brown eyes.  WolfStalker is 17, and Wolf's second in command.  He has short spiked blond hair and light green eyes.  Moonlight was 15.  She had short silvery blond hair, and gray eyes.  SilverWolf was 11.  She had long red hair, and silvery gray eyes.  NightShade was 18; he had short spiked black hair, and dark, almost black eyes.  Howl was 16 and had black hair with blond and red highlights, and he had hazel eyes.  WolfMoon was 14 and had long black hair, back in a ponytail.  He had bright blue eyes.  Hugs and greetings were exchanged.

"I'm glad you guys all got here safe.  Wolf, you already explained what was going on, right?"  Harry started.

"Yup," Wolf replied.

"Good, good... I need to fill you all in on my other problem later, once I figure out where you're going to stay.  If it's alright, would you rather stay in Hogwarts, or down in the village?" Harry asked.

"Here, Dante's in the village," ShadowStalker said immediately. 

"That's what I had figured.  Much easier to make a plan on him...when...he..." Harry was now focused on something behind them.  "What is he doing?" Harry wondered to himself.

"What's Fudge doing here?" Ron asked as he and Hermione came up behind him.  Harry shrugged.

"No idea.  Ron, Hermione, these are my fellow Wolves.  Wolf, WolfStalker, Moonlight, SilverWolf, NightShade, Howl, and WolfMoon.  Wolf is now Head.  ShadowStalker is her second.  Moonlight is our planner, SilverWolf, surveillance, NightShade, spy network, Howl, distractions, and WolfMoon, fighting.  These five are new recruits and will get their names later.  Wolves, this is Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, my best fri-"

"Well, well, Potty, what have we here?" Malfoy waltzed up.

"Stand down!" Harry said sharply.  Ron, Hermione and Malfoy looked at him funny. "Not you," he said.  The Wolves didn't like insults to one of their own.  They did, but barely.  "Malfoy, they may listen to me now, but they will not if you go too far.  Remember that," Harry said, with a small smile.  Malfoy walked away quickly.  Harry grinned, "That will keep him out of my hair for a while.  This is going to be one long month..."

"What do you mean?" Moonlight asked.  

"You see this badge?" Harry said, pointing to the Slytherin one on his robes.  She nodded.  "It's supposed to be the same as theirs, but I got stuck in the bloody inter-house exchange program.  So until January, I'm in Slytherin.  Come on, it's cold, let's get inside," Harry said.  They quickly did.

"Potter, who are all these people?" Snape demanded.

"It's rather complicated, Professor.  And I need to see Professor Dumbledore," Harry said.  Snape was now eyeing the Wolves, who were eyeing him.  

"Then I will be escorting you," Snape said firmly.  Harry looked distinctly annoyed at this, but held his tongue.  The Wolves took their queue from him, and Hermione and Ron didn't want to lose any points for Gryffindor.

He took them up, knocked on the door, and waited for Dumbledore's permission to enter.  It came quickly.  Dumbledore was standing behind his desk, while Fudge stood on the other side.

"Ah, Severus, I see you've found Harry.  Cornelius, if we are finished here?"  Fudge left.

"Now, how about you introduce me to these friends yours," Dumbledore said cheerfully.  The Wolves exchanged raised eyebrows, and Harry hid a smile.  Then, for the second time, he introduced everyone.

"And the Wolves would be a group of what, thieves, beggars?" Snape asked.  He was suddenly aware of thirteen eyes glaring at him.

"I don't believe that was a wise move, Severus," Dumbledore said, still cheerfully, making everyone wonder if he'd gotten hit by a cheering charm gone wrong at some point, "Especially since Harry is the former leader."

"Former?" Ron and Hermione asked.

"It's kind of hard to be Head Wolf when I'm at Hogwarts most of the year," Harry shrugged, "So Wolf took my face."

"So she was your second in command?" Hermione asked.  A strange look passed over Harry's face.

"No.  Not originally anyway.  NightWo- Dante, was.  He pulled a Wormtail and formed his own group- which is the reason why the Wolves are here," Harry explained, "Speaking of the Riders, how is SpyMoon doing?"  

"She's infiltrated perfectly.  Dante suspects nothing," NightShade reported promptly.

"Good...  does she know what's going on?" Harry asked.  NightShade nodded.

"I sent word to her on the way here," he replied.  Harry nodded.

"SilverWolf, how's surveillance coming?"

"I've been working with Night's spies.  We have surveillance everywhere in the village."

"WolfMoon, how are the recruits?" 

"Nearly ready to be fully inducted."  Harry grinned.

"Then we are in business.  Professor Dumbledore-"

"You'd like to have some guests for a while.  I don't see why not.  They need to be trained in their magic anyway," he noted the Wolves surprised faces, "Oh, all of you, even the recruits are wizards and witches.  All the more reason for you to be here.  Harry, you will help with that I am assuming?"  Harry nodded, and Hermione and Ron volunteered to help. 

"Then I believe we, as you put it, in business," Dumbledore said.  They grinned.  "The third floor corridor can be converted into living quarters for you."  

"Thank you, Professor," Wolf said.

"You're welcome," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"I'll go show them where it is then, Professor," Harry said, motioning for them to follow.

* * *

Hogsmeade, two weeks later

Harry, Ron and Hermione took this weekend to get Christmas presents.  Draco and Harry had seemed to come to an understanding- if they annoyed the other, they should expect retaliation.  Otherwise they got along as well as could be expected.  They agreed to meet at the Three Broomsticks at noon.  The Wolves were wandering around, checking with contacts (in NightShade's case) and watching out for Riders (everyone else).  At noon, Wolf went to the Three Broomsticks to check in with Harry, only to find Ron and Hermione couldn't find him.

"Well, he's probably just running late," Ron said.  SilverWolf came running up.

"No one at all has seen Harry in the last half hour.  Should I alert NightShade?" she asked.

"Yes," Wolf said worriedly, as SilverWolf ran off.

Meanwhile...

"What do you want?" Harry asked wearily.

"You bring down the leader, you bring down the pack.  Surely you know that by now," Dante taunted, punching Harry in the stomach.  Harry doubled over.  "A little rusty?" Dante smirked.  Dante turned to the two holding Harry up.  "Do what you want as long as you don't kill him," he said, leaving.  Harry didn't like the looks exchanged.  'SpyMoon!' Harry thought, 'Please hear something about this!'

At the Three Broomsticks, the Wolves had gathered with Ron and Hermione.

"Something's wrong, it's been a half hour," Hermione said worriedly.

"None of my spies have seen anything," NightShade said, shaking his head.

"Nor any of the surveillance," SilverWolf said sadly.

"The rest of us have been coming the streets, not a sign," WolfStalker said.

"We've asked every Hogwarts student we could find," Ron said, "No one's seen him."

"Well he can't have just vanished!" Wolf cried, "_Someone_ has to know _something!_"  SpyMoon ran in.  

"Dante's got him!" she cried.

"What!?" they all cried.

"No!" Wolf moaned, "That's the whole reason we came here!  We knew the Raiders were here and that the odds for Harry alone would be crap!  We cannot stand for this!"

"Wolf, you need to calm down.  Hastily called battles never end well," Moonlight said.

Wolf sighed, "What do you think then, o tactical one?"  

"May I borrow a piece of parchment?" she asked Hermione, who gladly gave her one.  She began writing furiously, then handed it to Wolf, who in turn handed it to NightShade.  He nodded, and handed it to SpyMoon, who left immediately.

"We have contacts and spies all over the place," NightShade explained, "SpyMoon's going to round up ten to make a distraction, while three of us get Harry at.  We need you two to get back to the school and tell your headmaster and the nurse.  Harry won't be in the best shape."  Ron and Hermione agreed and left, while the Wolves got ready.  They agreed that Moonlight, NightShade and WolfMoon would go in.  Howl would be leading the distractions.


	4. The Chapter that will more than likely c...

Chapter 4

A/N: *staring blankly at the screen* Ah, you'd like the chapter now.  *Impatient nods* Ok, here you go!

~~~~ = Flashbacks

_~~~~_

_"He's got the cup, Cedric won!" Harry shouted over the cheering, he could see better than Ron and Hermione at this point.  Even if he wasn't too fond of Cedric, he was glad it was a Hogwarts victory.  Suddenly Harry's scar burned.  _

_"Harry!  Harry what's wrong?" Hermione called._

_"Don't know," Harry mumbled, pressing his hand against his forehead._

_"Potter, come with me," Moody said, pulling Harry with him.  Harry shrugged to Ron and Hermione and went with him.  They got out of the stands, then Moody muttered something and they vanished.  Harry's scar burned stronger as the pulling on his navel stopped and he looked around at his surroundings.  A graveyard.  Voldemort was reborn, and a duel challenge was made.  Voldemort tossed Harry a sword._

_"I believe you know how to use this."_

_~~~~_

_~~~~_

_"I don't know if anyone told you this or not, but I'm your godfather," Sirius said._

_"Yeah, I know," Harry said._

_"Oh.  Well, I was wondering if you'd like to come live with me?" Sirius asked nervously, "I mean if you'd rather stay at the Dursley's, I'd understand."_

_"Who?" Harry asked, looking a bit confused, "Wait- did you say I could come live with you?  Do you have a house?  When can I move in?"_

_"R-Really?" Sirius stammered.  Harry nodded with a grin.  _

_"Mr. Black!  Professor Lupin- he's changing, and he hasn't had his potion!" Hermione yelled.  Sirius transformed after telling them to run.  Peter transformed, and made a mad dash for the forest._

_~~~~_

_~~~~_

_"Ginny, get out of here!" Harry yelled.  He was covered in slime from the pipe leading to the Chamber and trying to get Ginny to run for the door.  He'd destroyed the diary just after Tom came out of it, but the Basilisk was still there.  Ginny seem frozen as the huge snake came at her.  Its eyes were gone thanks to Fawkes, but it was still extremely dangerous.  Harry held the sword ready, but he needed to make sure Ginny was all right.  _

_"Ginny, MOVE!" Harry shouted.  He pushed her out of the way, and thrust the sword into the snake's mouth; it fell down dead, but pierced his arm with a fang.  Ginny pulled him back to Ron and Lockhart, where Fawkes was waiting.  Fawkes healed Harry's arm and took them to back to Dumbledore._

_"Ah, I trust you four are all right?" Dumbledore asked upon seeing them._

_~~~~_

_~~~~_

_'Bugger,' Harry thought, staring at the Mirror of Erised.  He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but the mirror seemed to be divided in half.  On one side he saw himself, standing with his parents.  One the other, he saw himself correcting the largest mistake he had made- stealing for the first time.  Harry had always wished he could take that back, because then maybe, just maybe, things would have turned out different for him, though for better or for worse he did not know.  He wished this just as much as he had wished he had his family.  "Does this show us our wishes?" Harry wondered out loud to himself._

_"Yes... and no, Harry," Dumbledore said from behind him, "It shows us no more or less than our heart's deepest desire.  The mirror will be taken to a new home tomorrow.  I will have to ask you not to seek it again."  Harry nodded, and Dumbledore turned to go._

_"What do you see in the mirror, Professor?" Harry asked suddenly.  _

_"Socks," Dumbledore said, "I see myself holding socks.  Another Christmas came and went... and people seem to like to give me books rather than socks."  Then he left, leaving Harry to wonder whether or not he was serious.  Then he decided to keep that in mind for next Christmas._

_~~~~~_

Harry was not at all happy with his current situation.  He was furious that he let himself get caught off guard and out of practice.

"Shadows are hidden, but with Moonlight we seek them, in the shade of the night with spies all around," came a whisper through the window.

"Come in, the cost is clear," Harry whispered back.  Moonlight, SpyMoon and NightShade climbed through.  They looked him over.

"You look like crap," NightShade said bluntly.

"Thanks," Harry said dryly, "Could you get these damn ropes off now?"  They untied him.  Harry tried to stand but he didn't have enough strength.  NightShade helped him up, Moonlight climbed back through the window, and NightShade lifted Harry through the window to her.  Then he and SpyMoon left.   NightShade transformed and Moonlight set Harry on his back.  SpyMoon transformed and ran ahead to let them know Harry was ok.  The bangs told them Howl was assuring their getaway.  They quickly headed up to Hogwarts.

* * *

"I am perfectly fine!" Harry protested.  Dumbledore, Wolf, Madame Pomfrey and Sirius all gave him a look.  "Ok, so I'm not _perfectly_ fine, but I've been beaten up before, you know," Harry said irritably.

"Proud prick," Wolf muttered.

"Am not!"

"Yes you are- stupefy!" she said.  Harry fell back on the bed unconscious.

"Was that really necessary?" Sirius growled.

"Yes," she said simply, "Because he is a proud prick when he wants to be."  Madame Pomfrey shook her head and healed him.

* * *

"NO!  Absolutely not!"

Harry and Wolf were in the middle of an argument in the middle of breakfast the next morning.  Slytherins around them glared sleepily, and while everyone agreed it was much too early for this, no one wanted to be the one to break them up.  

"Shadow!!!  Have you lost your mind?? We need to retaliate!"

"NO!  Wolf, I am NOT declaring war on Dante!"

"What did you do- go soft on us?  Become one of those goody-goody counselor's at the hall that kept trying to convince us fighting's not the way?  They don't know what it's like, and I think you've forgotten.  Unless you want to challenge me for HeadWolf, I will declare on Dante.  I can't believe you of all people don't want to fight," she ended in a whisper.  Then she stalked out.

"Don't do this, Wolf," Harry said sharply.

"Certain things have to be respected, ShadowWolf.  And you know it," she called back.

"Of all the idiotic, fool hearted, MORONIC, INSANE STUNTS TO PULL!!!  SHE'S BLOODY NUTS!!!" Harry fumed, pacing angrily back and forth, ignoring everyone.  "Declaring on him now of all times!  Bloody hell..." he wandered out aimlessly, and ended up by the Wolf dorms.  He went in.  Wolf had her back to him, but the rest were all facing the door.

"Wolf," Harry said quietly.  She turned.  "I challenge you for HeadWolf.  One hour, on the grounds."  Her question of 'But don't you have class?' when unanswered, for Harry had left.  Murmurs broke out between them as they headed to breakfast.

"He's seriously going to challenge her?" Moonlight mused out loud.

"He seemed serious enough," NightShade shrugged, "I wonder what happened though."

"What do you mean?" one of the pups asked.

"He hasn't fought in five years, and suddenly he's challenging Wolf.  Something must have happened," he replied.

"What do you mean, 'challenging Wolf'?" a stern voice said.  NightShade turned to see Professor Snape looming over him.

"Exactly what I said.  Harry's challenging WolfSong for HeadWolf.  Did something happen this morning?" NightShade asked.

"She and Harry had a rather large disagreement this morning, about declaring on Dante," Snape replied.  NightShade whistled.

"That would do it," he said, "Guys!! Shadow and Wolf got in a fight!  That's why he's challenging her.  This is gonna be one of the best fights in a long time as long as Harry isn't too rusty!"  All of the Wolves looked excited at the prospect.  It did promise to be a good fight.

* * *

"Where is it, where is it?" Harry muttered, rummaging though his trunk.  He threw a spare robe behind him, where it landed on a rather disgruntled Draco.  A pair of filthy socks flew at Snape.  

"Ug, Potter, where did you get those?" Snape said, holding them at arms length.

"Dunno, but I thought I burned them at some point," Harry said, his voice muffled as his head fully in the trunk now, "Aha!"  He pulled out a miniature trunk, and restored it to it's normal size- about a forth of the size of his school trunk.  He threw it open and examined the contents.  There was a short sword strapped to the inside of the lid, two knives about the length of Harry's forearm strapped to the back wall of the trunk, three daggers strapped to each of the two short wall of the trunk, and a staff strapped to the front wall.  There was no bottom; it dropped into a good-sized training room with a magical dummy to fight with and moving targets on the walls.  Harry drew the sword and the two long knives, and dropped down into the room, landing lightly on his feet.  "Come on down, if you want," Harry called, starting to spar with the dummy.  They did.  Draco watched Harry, while Snape examined the room.

"I never got any chance to practice in the Gryffindor dorm- didn't feel like explaining why I had it.  I got it at a weapons shop in Diagon Alley my third year.  Hmm.... I'll have to get some more weapons from the Wolf stock later, this won't be enough in case Dante declares on us...  Damn..." Harry fought a bit harder, then suddenly whipped around, throwing a knife directly into the target next to Snape.  He grinned, "Bull's eye."  Then he looked down at his watch, and put his sword in the sheath on his belt, the long knives in holsters on his arms, and grabbed three of the smaller knives and stuck them in other hidden holsters.  Finally he grabbed his staff, and hoisted himself out, giving Draco a hand as Snape levitated himself out.  "I'll be out on the grounds- WolfSong and I have a fight," Harry said, donning a black cloak over his jeans and black shirt, and ran out.  Curious, they followed.

 Wolf was pacing back and forth on the path, waiting for him.

"WolfSong," he nodded.

"ShadowWolf," she acknowledged, "I assume you want to cut the chit-chat?"

"Don't I always?"

"Let's get this started then."

"Agreed."

They each drew short swords and began going at it.  It was clear to them that Harry was more skilled.  Wolf was good, but Harry was a natural at it.  At one point, Wolf drew a long knife.  Harry drew one of his, and they fought with both.  This went on until Wolf made a mistake- she left her side open.  He hit it with the flat side of his sword, knocking her down.

"I give," she said finally, he gave her a hand up and they hugged.

"Nice fight, but I really do need to get to class now," he said with a lop-sided grin.

"Thank you, HeadWolf, you weren't so bad yourself.  I'm off to tell the others then!" she said.  Harry looked relieved.

"I was hoping she wouldn't be mad at me," Harry said, then turned and went to class.  He made it in time for Potions.  Nobody said a word about the weapons he carried with him, but he magicked them back to his trunk all the same before Charms all the same.  He really didn't feel like carrying them around all day anyway.  He kept one of the small knives hidden in his robes though- he couldn't shake that vaguely paranoid feeling.  Charms went normally, but Harry sunk into his seat at the Slytherin table thankfully anyway.  

"Bad morning?" Ginny asked sitting down.

"Long morning," he corrected.

"How so?" Terri asked, sitting too.

"He's HeadWolf again," Draco said, coming over.

"Really?" George asked.

"Yeah," Harry sighed, "Something doesn't feel right.  I don't know why though!"  The other four shrugged.

"No idea, mate," George said finally.

"It's not your scar is it?" Ginny asked anxiously.

"No, thankfully, something else," Harry replied, "I just wish I kn-"

"SHADOW!!!" WolfSong shrieked, racing across the Great Hall.  Harry jumped up.  They were talking in low tones, WolfSong gesturing wildly, and Harry frowning and looking more and more worried by the second.  Finally, Harry nodded, and WolfSong left.  Harry dropped back on his seat, and put his head in his hands.

"It has begun."

The doors of the Great Hall burst open as the Raiders burst in.  Harry was up in a second, all his weapons on him, eyes flashing.

"How dare you," Harry hissed, "How dare you just burst in here?  This is your territory no more than it is mine, got it?"

"Maybe I'm looking to expand," Dante shot back.

"This is a _school_.  We don't claim schools as our territory- **remember**?" Harry said.

"Those are your rules ShadowWolf.  Rider's have different rules," Dante replied.

"If you wish to challenge me, we go outside," Harry said coldly.

"That will always be your weakness, Shadow.  You care too much."

"You care too little."  Dante took out his wand and muttered something.  Harry's left leg was broken, the same place that Dante had broken it originally.  Another muttered curse, and his right arm was as well.  Harry quickly shifted all his weight to his right leg, and held his arm protectively, grimacing in pain.  It hurt like hell, but he didn't have time to do anything else.  But Dante wasn't finished.  He shoved Harry hard before Harry could get to his wand or sword.  Harry reeled, unable to get his balance back.  His leg collapsed beneath him, and he fell on his broken arm.  Gasping in pain, he saw the teachers raise their wands and ducked as Dante was blasted off his feet over his head.

"I think we overdid it a tad," Dumbledore said lightly.  Harry managed a small smile, but made no attempt to get up.  George and Ginny, who were closest, helped Harry to a seat, where he promptly passed out.

* * *

Harry awoke sometime later, in the hospital wing.  He opened one eye and looked around.  Sirius was lying on the bed in dog form next to him.  Seeing Harry was awake, he jumped down and transformed.

"How are you feeling?" Sirius asked worriedly.

"Like I got ran over by a truck," Harry said, moving his arms and legs a bit.  His left leg and right arm were in casts.  "Pomfrey couldn't heal them?"

"No, the spell that kid- [Dante] The spell Dante used broke them the way they had been once, and only allowed them to heal the original way they had healed."

"Which is in a cast," Harry finished then said dryly, "Just great.  Twice now I've gotten the crap kicked out of me by my former second.  I seriously need to get back in practice."

"Why?  I thought you hated fighting?"

"I do," Harry said, and conjured a map of London.  There were colored patches filling up the entire thing.  Harry pointed to the silver one around the Leaky Cauldron.  "That's Wolf territory.  The black patch next to it is Rider territory.  We have allies in Eagle (blue), Fox (red), Moon (white), and Sun (yellow) territories that will defend our territory while we are here. The Rider's have allies too, in Panther (purple), Horse (brown), and a few others that I can't remember at the moment.  They defend the Rider's territories while they are here.  I've got to go back there during Christmas break.  I need to make sure our allies still want to be allies, and that our territory is safe.  But I need to practice because when word gets out that the HeadRider beat the HeadWolf twice, when the HeadRider was the HeadWolf's second, I'll lose support that we need.

~~~~~

In the next chapter we will see Harry practicing more, the switch back to their normal dorms, and what that does to the new found alliance between Harry and Draco, plus a reaction when the word of what the Wolves do gets out to the general population of Hogwarts.  Please review!

~NSW~

Thanks to everyone that's reviewed: 

Mystic Queen

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Thanks again, you guys are great!!


	5. The Chapter that was a real pain to writ...

Chapter 5

A/N: This is the chapter I've been waiting to write since I've started this... unfortunately, it's been a pain in the neck to write... 

Harry left at Christmas break, thankfully crutch and cast-less.  Dante wasn't that good at magic and the spell he had cast wore off, so Madame Pomfrey could fix it.  The rest of the Wolves stayed there on Harry's orders.  No one heard anything at all from him while he was gone.  They began to get worried, however, when break ended and Harry still hadn't returned.  

A week passed and still not a word was heard from him.  Finally, one morning at breakfast, a very ragged, tired, and annoyed Harry stumbled in.  He was dirty, his clothes were ripped, and he was limping a bit.  His wrist was bandaged, and he had a few spots that could only be blood here and there on his clothes.  He was most definitely thinner than when he left.  He grinned when he saw food though, and plopped down and promptly filled a plate.  No one dared to question him at the moment, for fear of loosing a limb.  Once he had finished four plates, he looked around, finally noticing everyone was looking at him.

"What?  I was hungry," he shrugged.

"Mr. Potter, I need to see you in my office later," Dumbledore said.  Harry nodded, and began to fill his plate again.

"How did it go?" Sirius asked later as he and Harry walked to Dumbledore's office.

"Horrible," Harry sighed, blowing at his bangs, "Fox and Moon had sided with the Riders, it took me a solid week to convince them to ally with us again- that's what took me so long.  If I had known, I would have tried to find an owl.  

I spent a week regaining our territory, two days convincing Eagle and Sun to stop fighting and to continue to ally with us- I am so glad I didn't go in there with a cast, otherwise I'd still be there.  I accidentally walked in the middle of a Eagle and Sun skirmish, and as a result, I have to go have Madame Pomfrey look at my leg and wrist."  

Five days were spent getting Snake, Lion, Tiger, and Shark to make up their minds and side with us.  The up side is half of Rider Territory is gone- Panther, Horse and Monkey got sick of protecting it and took it for themselves."

It's a bloody mess right now, but I think it's more or less settled down.  I absolutely _hate_ diplomatic meetings!  I only hope one of the pups turns out to be good at diplomacy.  We're one of the only ones that don't have an assigned diplomat- either WolfSong or I get the _wonderful _job of going.  Ug."

"Sounds like you have a very eventful three weeks."

"I want to go sleep for another week.  I didn't get much sleep the last four or five nights, and I'm still hungry..." Harry said, looking rather put off.

"Still?  Damn," Sirius said, fighting a grin.

"There are no such thing as regular meals there.  It's one extreme or the other, depending on what you can get," Harry shrugged, "It'll take me a few days to get back to a regular schedule, but until then, I'll shovel in everything in sight."  Sirius laughed and said the password.  They went up.  Dumbledore was waiting.  Harry knew exactly what he wanted, and repeated what he had just told Sirius.  Then he looked down at himself.

"Damn, I really am in rough shape... anybody mind if I go get cleaned up?"  Neither did and Harry left.  He got to the Portrait before realizing he didn't know the password.

"Trawnley sucks," a voice said, and the portrait swung open.  He turned to see Ginny behind him.  "You're a mess."

"I noticed," Harry said dryly.  She laughed, and pushed him inside.  Harry went upstairs, grabbed some clean robes and locked himself in the bathroom, vowing not to come out until he looked halfway presentable again.  An hour later he came back out.

"I took three showers, washed my hair five times, and those clothes will never be the same.  Worst part is, I feel like I need three more showers," Harry said sorrowfully, rewrapping his wrist.  Ron, Ginny and Hermione laughed.

"Our bathroom may never be the same again," Ron laughed.

"Poor house-elves," Harry said sympathetically, shaking his head.

"Hey Harry, how do the different groups pick their names?" Ron asked.

"Well... most of the groups have animal names, obviously.  The Heads picked either their favorite animal or one that hadn't been taken yet.  At that time wolves were my favorite, they still are come to think of it they still are... anyway...  Sun and Moon is a different though... They're headed by twins who are as different as day and night, hence their name and the fact that they created separate groups.  As for the Riders, I have no idea why Dante picked that," Harry explained.  They talked for a while longer, and suddenly realized it was time for lunch.  Draco did a surprising thing.  Just as the four had sat down, Draco came up to Harry.

"Mind if I sit down?" he asked tentitively.  Ron, Hermione and Ginny exchanged puzzled glances, but Harry gave Draco a long look, that made him extremely nervous.  Then Harry motioned for him to sit down.  Ron, Hermione and Ginny looked at each other, then Harry, then Draco.

"HarryHarryHarryHarryHarryHarryHarry!!!!" Harry raised an eyebrow at his excited second in command as she raced it.

"What's up?"

"Theyretreatedtheyretreatedthey _retreated!!_" she cried, "The Riders are heading back to London!"

"They- What-" Harry looked incredibly confused.

"I don't know!  NightShade's spies reported they were _leaving!_  It's up to you though, do you want us to head back or stay here?" she asked, turning serious.

Harry froze.  Something just didn't seem right with this.  

"I don't know, WolfSong... It's seems a little odd that he just packs up and leaves after all this.  Wait a day or two.  I'd love for you guys to stay, but I did _not_ work for three weeks over _Christmas_ for Dante to just undo everything."  She laughed.

"You got it, boss-man," she said, heading back upstairs.

* * *

Three Days Later

**_Now, Wormtail, we strike London.  The area near the Leaky Cauldron should be a perfect target.  Summon the Death Eaters.  We leave in an hour!"_**

****

**_"Y-Yes, my Lord," Wormtail said._**

****

Harry shot up, "NO!"

"Huh?  Harry, wassamatter?" Ron asked sleepily.

"NO! I've got to warn them!" Harry yelled, tearing out of the dorm and downstairs.  He tried to get the portrait open, but it wouldn't.  "OPEN UP!" he yelled at it.

"Harry? What are you doing?" Hermione said from the top of the stairs.

"I can't! I need to send an owl!" he cried.

"At this hour??" she asked.

"YES!" 

"Mr. Potter!  What in the _world_ is going on?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I. Need. To. Send. An. owl. _NOW._" Harry cried.

"What ever it is, I'm sure it can wait," she said.

"No it can't! Right now, Voldemort is summoning his Death Eaters for an attack on London.  Specifically the area around the Leaky Cauldron!  MY WOLVES ARE THERE!   THEY WILL BE **_KILLED_** IF I CAN'T WARN THEM IN TIME, AND IT WILL BE MY FAULT!  " Harry shouted.

"Harry-"

"Don't say it Hermione.  It _will _be my fault.  I sent them back there!  I sent them back there..." Harry sunk to the floor, lowered his head, and repeated in barely a whisper "...I sent them back there..."  

[A/n I should stop here... but that's too short... right? *impatient nods* right then... I'll keep going...]

He got back to his feet.  "Can't think that way, can't think that way," he muttered.  He ran back up to his dorm, grabbed his Firebolt and jumped out the window.

"HARRY!" Ron yelled.  Harry hovered outside the window.

"I'm just flying to the owlery, I have to write WolfSong.  They need to get out of there, now!"  With that, he flew off.

"Hedwig!" Harry called.  She flew down.  "Hedwig, I need you to take something to WolfSong, it's urgent!" She hooted.  

-WolfSong

            You all need to get out of there, NOW!  Get out of Wolf territory, and tell all the groups that surround Wolf territory to get out now.  Head to another ally's territory, and write me as soon as you are all out of there.  THIS IS A DIRECT ORDER!

-ShadowWolf

He gave it to Hedwig and she flew off.  "I hope to Godric you guys are all right," Harry whispered, watching her fly away.  Then he flew back to the tower.  Ron was pacing anxiously; the other boys were sitting on their beds.  Hermione was sitting on Ron's bed.

"Guys, I didn't take off for London," Harry said, "Did McGonagall tell Dumbledore what I said?"

"Yes she did."  Harry jumped as Dumbledore walked in.  "Another dream?"  Harry nodded.

"Voldemort was talking to Wormtail.  He told him to summon the Death Eaters.  They're going to attack the area around the Leaky Cauldron.  I sent Hedwig to WolfSong.  I just hope-" he broke off, "I can't think that way... I can't..."  He started to pace.  Dumbledore left.


	6. The Chapter that took forever

Chapter 6

Three days had passed, and Hedwig hadn't returned.  Harry had barely spoken to anyone, and he wouldn't have eaten if it Hermione and Ron hadn't forced him to.  He sat staring off into space until Hedwig flew down in front of him.  She was clearly exhausted, and he quickly have her a piece of toast and some bacon.  The he took the letter, and read it anxiously.

_ShadowWolf-_

_            We just barely got your letter in time.  (We're all going to chip in and get Hedwig a huge package of owl treats by the way)  Our home is gone however, along with parts of the surrounding territories- including Rider, although I'm sure you were more worried about us than it.  None of us, our allies, or our enemies were seriously injured, though I unfortunately cannot say the same for the other people living and/or working in the area.  There were a lot of deaths.  I'm just thankful we got your warning in time.  We await your next orders._

_WolfSong_

Harry leaned back and sighed in relief.  'Oh thank god.  I don't know what I would have done if they hadn't been ok,' Harry thought.

"Harry?  Are they ok?" Hermione asked.

"Fine.  They got my letter in time.  Their- our home is gone though.  I'd rather have it gone then them though.  Thank you Hedwig, why don't you go take a long rest in the owlery."  Hedwig flew off after he gave her lots of owl treats.  Harry stood up.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked.

"Just for a walk, I need to try and get the jumpiness out," Harry explained.  Ron nodded.

"As long as you get to class on time," Hermione warned.  Ron and Harry looked at each other.

"Hermione," Harry said slowly, "Today's Saturday."

She grinned, "Gotcha," and left, persuadably for the library.

"What-" Harry started, looking at Ron.

"-just happened?" he finished, turning to look at Harry.  They both shrugged, and Harry left too.  

'We await you next order' she had said.  Unfortunately, he had no idea what that may be.  He didn't want them to stay in London, not with what was happening.  But, it had been their home for as long as he could remember [Dementor-induced memories not withstanding] and he didn't want to force them to give that up either.  He sighed, and wished he knew what to do.  If Voldemort found out about them- provided he hadn't already- Harry had no doubt he would capture them and use them as bait to get Harry away from Hogwarts.  And Harry knew he would go after them, just like if Ron, Hermione, Sirius, Remus or Ginny were captured.  They were as much a part of his family as anyone he had met since coming to Hogwarts.  He sighed again, one more 'weakness' as Dante put it, for Voldemort to exploit.  Lovely.  He turned back to his original train of thought.  And came up blank again.  

'What am I going to do?' Harry thought, 'I'm not just going to stick WolfSong in charge and leave them to fend for themselves.  I can't do that to her again, and I can't do that to them again.  Damn. That still leaves me with no ideas.'  Harry looked up from his musings, and noticed he was standing on the edge of the lake.  'Wow.  Glad I didn't fall in, I never actually learned how to swim...' He could see it now: Boy-Who-Lived dies by falling into lake.  The Slytherins that he hadn't made peace with would have a field day...  Harry sat down and stared out across the lake.  Suddenly, he thought he saw something moving- a black blur on the other side.  Curious, he stood, and began to walk around the lake.  The black blur came closer, and Harry recognized it to be his godfather.

"Hey Snuffles, where've you been?" Harry asked.  Sirius, in dog form, grabbed Harry's robe with his teeth and pulled him.  "Ok, ok, I'm coming," Harry said.  They got to a semi-secluded spot and Sirius transformed.

"I heard about the Wolves, are they ok?" he asked.  

"Fine, they all got out in time," Harry replied, "Stupid connection comes in useful every so often."  

"Now, are you ok?" Sirius asked.  Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm fine.  What about you?"

"Just dandy.  But it's my job to worry about you, not vice versa."

"Can't help it.  Sirius..."

"Yeah?"  Harry handed him the letter.  He read it.  "That's good that they're all right.  Sorry about your territory though."

"We can rebuild," Harry said, waving it off, "Read the last sentence."

"'We await your next orders.' Mm-hmm..." he glanced at his godson who was staring at the clouds, and wondered what was wrong.

"I don't know what my next orders are, Sirius.  That's the problem."

* * *

_-Wolves_

_Lay low for now.  Stay with an ally and write me at least twice a week.  Be extremely careful.  There's a lot of horrible stuff happening right now.  Don't do anything stupid, hotheaded, or anything that could remotely place you guys in danger.  Voldemort would have no problem using you as bait, but I'll see him in hell before I willing let that happen.  Just lay low, and write soon._

_-HW_

"Can you take this to WolfSong for me, girl?" Harry asked Hedwig.  She nipped him affectionately in the ear and allowed him to tie it to her leg.  Then she flew off.  Harry sighed.  He did not like this two separate worlds colliding thing.  Not at all.

* * *

Two months passed.  The Wolves wrote regularly, and he hadn't had any further dreams.  That morning at breakfast, Dumbledore made an announcement.

"Since Valentine's Day is just two weeks away, we will be having a dance to celebrate!  And every student must go with a partner."  

Ron and Harry looked at each other. "Partner!?"

* * *

Having just gone as a group last year, the idea of partners was a very scary thing for Ron and Harry.

"You have any idea of who you're going to take?" Harry asked Ron.

"I was thinking of Hermione, actually... you don't mind do you?"

"Why would I?" Harry asked.  

"Just checking," Ron said, "Do you have any idea who you're taking?"

"Nope."

Meanwhile...

"Who are you going to go with, Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"I was hoping Ron would ask me," she replied after a moment, "What about you?"

"Harry.  Do you think he would?"

"I think Harry's clueless around girls.  I'm just glad he got over that crush on Cho.  That was just embarrassing," Hermione said.  Ginny grimaced and nodded.  "Give him a week.  If he doesn't ask you, you should ask him."  She nodded.

* * *

As it turned out, Ginny didn't have to wait a week.  The next morning on the way to breakfast, she saw Harry cornered by three Hufflepuffs she didn't recognize.  He looked extremely flustered- like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him.

"So Harry, if you're not taking anyone..." 

Ginny walked over.

"Actually," Harry said quickly, spying her coming, "I'm taking Ginny.  Sorry."  He hurried over to the aforementioned girl standing there with her mouth open and quickly steered her to the Great Hall.

"I'm sorry," he stared.  She winced. 'Here it comes,' she thought sadly, 'He didn't really want to take me, he just wanted out of there...'

"I meant to actually _ask _you," he said apologetically, "But uh- Doyouwanttogotothedancewithme?"  

She blinked.  That was not what she'd expected.  Not entirely sure if he was serious, she just looked at him.  

'He really means it,' she realized.

'Oh god, she going to say no,' Harry thought.

"Of course!" she replied.  Harry looked surprised.

"Really?"  She gave him a look.  "Er, right, dumb question...  Do... Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me today?  I know it's short notice, but I, er, need new dress robes and, well, I'm completely hopeless when it comes to clothes."  He looked so sheepish that she burst out laughing.

"Of course I'll go," she said once she calmed down.  He offered her his arm.

"Shall we go in?" She grinned.

"You're supposed to save the gentlemanly act for the dance," she teased. 

"Act? No no no, this is protection.  Ron won't pulverize me if you're standing next to me... I hope..." She laughed.

"Harry, can I ask you something?" she said, just as they were going in.

"Sure," he replied.

"How close are you and WolfSong?"

"Meaning you don't want her to beat you up?" Harry grinned.  She nodded.  Sirius did a double take when he saw them.

"Wow," he whispered to Albus, "I never realized how much Ginny looks like Lily..."

"Except for the eyes," Albus agreed, "Harry has Lily's eyes, but Ginny have eyes like James."  Sirius nodded.

"She's more like a sister to me," Harry reassured her, "Going out with one of her... it'd be like you going out with Ron."  She shuddered.  "Exactly."

"Harry," Ron started suspiciously, "Why exactly is my sister on your arm?"

"Ummm...." Harry paled rapidly.

"Because I'm going to the dance with him," Ginny said.  Harry began to back up slowly.

"Harry," Hermione said in a stage whisper, "Run."  He needed no prompting.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! GET BACK HERE!" Ron bellowed.

"SIRIUS, SAVE ME!" Harry yelled, running to hid behind his amused godfather.  

"YOU CAN'T HID BEHIND HIM FOREVER!"

"RONALD WEASLEY, SIT DOWN THIS _INSTANT!_"  Ron looked meekly at Hermione, who was striding up to him.  Harry sprinted out.

"Hey!" Ron ran after him, Hermione chanced after Ron.  Poor Ginny stood next to the Gryffindor table looking confused, then she and Sirius burst out laughing.  A few minutes later, Harry popped his head back in.

"Is it safe?" he asked.  Ginny nodded, and he cautiously sat down.  Fred and George, who had missed the earlier excitement, wandered up to Harry.

"You wouldn't have any idea why-" Fred started.

"Our baby brother is trying to find you-" George cut in.

"To beat you up, would you?" They finished together.

"He's taking me to the dance," Ginny replied.

"Ah, is that all?" they said together.

"We need to go have a chat with him then," George said.

"Can't have our seeker in the hospital wing," Fred agreed.  They left as suddenly as they had come.  Ginny rolled her eyes.  Harry looked relieved.

Once they had eaten, and Ron had sufficiently calmed down after much persuasion from Hermione and promising Harry that he would get the crap beaten out of him if he hurt Ginny, they went to go get ready to go to Hogsmeade.  Both boys seemed to have forgotten Harry could very well beat the crap out of Ron easily.

* * *

With only minor protesting from Ron, the four were headed down the road.  Ron dragged Hermione into Zonko's, and Ginny and Harry went into the robe shop.  Ginny looked wistfully at the white silk dress robe in the window, then ushered Harry into the men's robes.  Harry glanced at the robe.  It was lovely, he had to admit.  It looked more like a dress, with little rosebuds around the waist and neckline.  When he went off to the dressing room with a pair of green robes like the ones he had last year, he whispered something to the saleswoman.  She smiled and nodded, then Harry went to try his robes on...

* * *

They met Ron and Hermione at the Three Broomsticks an hour later, after having visited Zonko's and Honeydukes.  Ron and Hermione were bickering about something.  Harry and Ginny looked at each other, agreed not to ask, and ordered butterbeers.

* * *

The night of the dance the whole tower was buzzing.  The girls had recently vacated the common room to prepare.  Hermione and Ginny were in the fifth year dorm, as Lavender and Parvati were in the bathroom putting on makeup.  Ginny had pulled her dress robe from her trunk and looked it over.  It was light blue, and while it looked great and all, she couldn't help but think of the one in the store.  She sighed, but denied anything was wrong when Hermione asked.

"Oh shoot, I forgot my ribbon," she said, slapping her forehead.  She headed back into her room, and started in shock at what was now laying on her bed.  The dress robe from the store was lying on her bed.  On top was a note, and a matching ribbon.

_Thought I'd say thanks for helping me shop.  Hope it's right,_

_Harry_

She changed quickly- it fit perfectly.  

"Ginny?  Where'd you go?  We need to start doing our hair," Hermione called, "The way mine is, if I don't start now- wow.  Ginny, you look beautiful!"

"Harry bought it.  He must have seen me looking at it in the store," Ginny said.

"Wow.  It looks great!  Let's get your hair done, though," Hermione said.  Lavender and Parvati came back in, and immediately began to help...

Meanwhile...

Harry was unsuccessfully trying to tame his hair.  Ron was laughing up until Harry threw his brush at him.  Harry gave up, and he and Ron headed downstairs to wait for Ginny and Hermione.

Ten minutes before the dance was to start, Hermione and Ginny came down.  Ron and Harry stood up and gaped.

"W-Wow," Ron stuttered, "Hermione, you look great!"

"Ginny... you look... wow..." Harry got out.  They laughed.

"We shocked them speechless," Ginny grinned as they reached the bottom step.  Harry offered her his arm, as Ron did the same with Hermione.  The four exited for the Great Hall.

~~~~~

Next chapter, the dance!  Sorry for the wait!!!! It won't take so long next time- promise!!!   I didn't have the computer for two weeks or the internet for three- blame my dad!

NSW


	7. The Chapter you thought didn't exist

[No, this is not a mirage. There actually is a chapter 7. You are not seeing things. Hopefully, you will all be pleased to know that, no, I did not die, fall off the face of the earth, or other such tragedies. I am very very very very very sorry I haven't updated in who knows how long, but please accept my humble apologies and this chapter. Please? PS I don't own Harry Potter or Story of the Year's song]

Chapter 7

The hall had been decorated beautifully, with moonlight shining in and giving everything an unearthly glow, lighting gently the delicate decorations carefully placed all around. After taking in the wonderful feast, and looking around to see who had come with who, slow music began to play, and pairs drifted to the slowly filling space of floor reserved for dancing. Revolving in time to the music, Harry and Ginny held each other as they twirled around, ignoring everyone but each other. The floor began to fill up, and other couples could be seen gliding around, should you be paying enough attention to look. Ron and Hermione danced nearby, her head resting on his chest as his arms were wrapped around her. She fit quite well tucked under his chin. The small din in the background from the chatter of those not dancing did nothing to diminish the music, and the low candlelight on the tables added to the atmosphere.

The songs changed, but the two couples remained fix on the floor among the rest of the students drifting on and off, floating near each other throughout the night, and Harry was immensely grateful Ron was paying far more attention to Hermione than he was to Ginny and himself. Ginny laid her head on his shoulder and he breathed in the smell of her hair as they spun slowly on the spot. As much as he loved being this close to Ginny, his mind often strayed off to the warehouse in London, and he simply couldn't fully enjoy everything around him.

They watched Draco dance by a few times with a fourth year Ravenclaw. Their truce continued past not killing each other in the dorm, it seems, as Harry and Draco only nodded to each other as they and their respective partners twirled around.

"Earth to Harry, come in Harry."

Harry's head shot up, narrowly missing the top of the portrait hole as they went back into the common room.

"Hmm?" he asked absently, not having realized he had gotten lost in thought yet again.

"We're all in Hogwarts, where are you?" Ron asked. Harry gave them sheepish looks.

"Sorry," he replied as they sunk into chairs near the fire. None of them had the energy to go up and change yet, and so they sat staring at the fire and talked quietly about nothing in particular. After an hour passed, they realized they should be getting to bed, before they all slept down here in their good robes, and bade each other good night. Ginny gave Harry a kiss on the cheek before going up to her dorm. Harry stood there for a moment, watching the now empty stairwell, until Ron cleared his throat. He was trying for the disapproving big brother look, but his face was slightly flushed, and Harry saw a bit of Hermione's lipstick on his face, completely ruining Ron's effect, much to his disappointment, and Harry's carefully hidden relief. They headed upstairs and went to bed.

The weeks flew by, and the seasons began to change again. The flurry of owl post between Hogwarts and a new supposedly abandoned warehouse in London continued, and Harry could be seen wearing a charm in the shape of a running wolf on a leather cord around his neck regularly. Homework mounted again, to an alarming rate for some, and OWLS and NEWTS loomed ominously on the fifth and seventh years. The other years either learned or remembered to stay away from the stressed out students, in fear of being cursed. Tempers were strained, and odd accidents were not uncommon. Lavender had already fainted twice, and Neville kept having strange boils popping up, although no one was quite sure if that was from the stress of the impending exams or the mysterious unmarked candies that continued to appear, courtesy of a pair of red headed twins.

"I can't study any more," Ron moaned one night a week from the start of the tests, flopping on his back and staring at the ceiling, finding an odd crack suddenly particularly interesting, "I think my brain fried."

"Ron! We've got to keep studying, we've only got a week!" Hermione cried. She was one of the most stressed out students, though no one really understood why, as they were sure she'd do far better than all of them. No amount of assuring could convince her of that, however.

Harry, though, had paused in his studying long enough to wonder where Ginny had gotten too. Looking at them and deciding the tension would only mount if nothing was done, Harry suggested they take a break. "It's a Hogsmeade weekend, let's just go down, get a couple butterbeers and try to keep our minds off it for a few hours. We've still got a week." Ron agreed at once, but Hermione didn't look so certain. Once they finally assured her that a break would do her good, and that she'd actually be able to study better after words, they cleaned up their area and walked down to the village.

"Fresh air!" Ron cried, taking in a great breath and taking in the bright blue sky like he hadn't seen it in months. Hermione merely shook her head at his antics, and Harry grinned.

"Race you!" Harry yelled, suddenly feeling the urge to break free and run. Ron must have felt it too, because they both took off.

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione screeched, "Wait for me!" She chased them down the lane. Laughing, and red faced from their excursion, they ran into the Three Broomsticks. It was fairly full, but they managed to find a free table off to the side. Hermione and Ron saved it, while Harry went up and got their drinks. He grabbed their sloshing mugs of iced Butterbeer- it was getting far too warm out to drink it hot- and maneuvered through the crowded room to their seats. As they sipped the cool drink, the three stressed students finally began to relax and ignore their worries, if only briefly. Mugs quickly emptied, and they meandered down the street, seeing if there was anything new to be seen, new places, new things, new people. Harry stopped briefly in the post office to send Sirius a letter. As far as Harry knew, his godfather was off helping one of the old crowd on an assignment, though he wasn't sure where. Sirius had told him, however, to make sure he checked in periodically while Sirius was away, so he knew for sure what was happening with Harry. Harry also looked forward to the replies, liking being sure that he was okay and would be back nearby as soon as he could.

They walked back quietly, none of them really wanting to break the comfortable silence that had fallen between them since the Shrieking Shack. Ron and Harry were not in any particular hurry to return to the stuffy tower and books, however Hermione kept checking her watch from time to time.

"Relax, Hermione," Ron urged after the fifth time, "Our books and notes aren't going anywhere, and besides, you've practically memorized it all by now anyway. You don't need to your worry, you're going to do fine." She remained unconvinced, and the boys shrugged a bit and went back a little faster to appease her.

After a few more grueling hours of study, they finally decided to call it a night, once Hermione was convinced that exhausting themselves wouldn't help them remember any of it. Apparently alarmed by that idea, she bustled them off to bed, and told them to make sure they got a full night's sleep, for they had studying to do tomorrow too. A chorus of 'Yes, Hermione' continued until they could make it up the stairs far enough that they could not hear her any more. That night, Harry dreamed of wolves running through a field.

The week past far too quickly for the frantically cramming students. A few had given up early, deciding that if they didn't know it at that point, they weren't going to, and why bother straining themselves even more, but the rest continued their hurried pace up until the first exam.

The written portion of the Charms exam had gone fairly well, Harry decided, although Hermione was insistent that she had messed up part of it. Ron, however, gently but firmly reminded her that she was excellent at Charms, had undoubtedly done far better then everyone else, and that they'd already gotten through the exam once, there was absolutely no need to go through and analyze every single question, because quite frankly, he couldn't remember them all anyway.

As he exited the Charms practical part later that afternoon, he decided that all in all, it could have gone far worse, and he thought he had done quite well at any rate. Ron, appeared to do fairly well too, or, at the very least, he didn't seem flustered or incredibly upset after word. Both ignored Hermione's wonderings if she'd gotten her plate to turn quite the right shade of maroon, and instead were beaten soundly by Ginny at Exploding Snap.

The Transfiguration written exam, Harry decided, had gone very much the same as the Charms, and he was quite certain he did well on it, even if he had forgotten a couple definitions, and was quite certain his spelling had been a tad off on one spell. Hopefully mixing the o and the a on paper would not count too much off.

The practical exam was harder, though not by much, and after a couple mishaps quickly corrected, he'd gotten almost all of the results he had hoped to achieve. At any rate, the examiner had seemed pleased enough.

Divination had gone dreadfully, but both Harry and Ron had expected that, after seeing nothing but fog in their crystal balls for two years. Neither examiner looked to pleased with them, but neither boy could bring themselves to care too much that they wouldn't take the class next year. Unless Trelwany was incredibly lax on her NEWT students, that is. They could only be that, ahem, lucky.

Harry was far more relaxed at making potions when Snape was not breathing down his neck, ready to jump at every tiny mistake, it seems, for he decided by the time he was done brewing the draught, that it looked quite like it was supposed to. Even Neville seemed to do far better, even under a pressured situation. After all, the pressure of the examiner and Snape's pressure was far different, making Harry wonder for one brief moment if Snape did that on purpose. That thought was quickly thrown out as exam stress however, as Harry knew there was very little chance Snape would willingly do anything like that to actually help them.

Defense, Harry knew without a doubt, that he had more than passed. The examiner was very much impressed with the amount and range of spells Harry knew, both offensive and defensive, and had Harry demonstrate several. He also got extra points for his corporal Patronus, which made the examiner clap in delight as he watched the glowing silver stag gallop noiselessly around the room before coming to a stop in front of them and vanishing.

Astronomy had gone as well as could be expected for Harry, who wasn't all that great at picking out the planets and filling out the star charts, but he still decided he did reasonably well for the amount he got finished after letting himself get distracted so many times by the cool metal necklace hitting gently against him as he leaned to see into the eyepiece.

The History exam went much like History class did. Harry could not stay focused on the questions in front of him, and drifted in and out of a sleepy daze, until the bell which signaled the end of the exam rang sharply, nearly tipping him over, and making him realize he'd made very little progress.

Care of Magical Creatures went fairly well, as the creatures were quite tame compared to some of their charges during the year. He gave Hagrid a reassuring look as they headed back up toward school. Harry got as far as the edge of the lake before he plopped down in the soft warm grass and refused to go any farther, especially if the farther in question was inside. Both Hermione and Ron agreed they'd seen far too much of the inside of the castle, and agreed to lounge out near the lake until dinner. Presently, Ginny found them, and sat leaning against Harry while Hermione leaned on Ron. All were quite content to stay as they were, until their stomachs interfered, of course.

"What are you all doing this summer?" Harry asked suddenly as they ate.

"Not sure yet," Hermione said.

"Probably nothing," Ron and Ginny replied at the same time.

Harry nodded absently, apparently only confirming something in his head, "How would you all like to come stay with me and the Wolves for a little while? Not the best of accommodations, but I really want you to see them in thei- our home. The professor's will probably get me to the Burrow by August anyway."

"If my parents don't mind," Hermione said after a moment.

"We'll talk Mom and Dad into it," Ginny said immediately. Harry smiled.

After a lot of letters and persuasion, the three were permitted to stay with Harry for a few weeks in London, under the strict orders that Harry was to return to the Burrow afterward, due to all the attacks. Harry managed to get it so the Wolves could invade Sirius's home after he left, so he would be much less worried about them when the time came.

They left the train, and went out onto the platform, then out into the main station where WolfSong and WolfStalker were waiting.

"Nice to see you, Shadow," she said, hugging him. He hugged back.

"You too, Wolf, glad you all are okay," he replied. They started off for the warehouse, the two Wolves helping with the heavy trunks.

"Welcome to the Wolf's den" Harry said as they came up to a seemingly deserted warehouse. They looked around, eyeing the outside, wondering what to make of it.

"Come on, we'll give you the grand tour after we drop off your things," Harry said, taken them inside. It looked much different than it did outside. One floor was devoted to bedrooms, enough for each of them to have their own, along with several guest rooms. The downstairs had a gym, makeshift kitchen and dinning room, along with a sitting room. There was also a room with a huge table in the middle, and maps and papers spread all over the walls. The best part, Harry promised, they would see at sunset.

A few hours later, after getting settled and meeting with the few Wolves they hadn't met at Hogwarts, and a few from other clans that were roaming around, Hermione, Ron and Ginny found themselves on the rooftop with Harry, Moonlight, WolfSong, WolfStalker, Nightshade, and Flash, watching the sun sink low beneath the distant buildings. WolfSong started humming as they looked out at the sight, and got louder until she was singing.

The stars will cry the blackest tears tonight,

And this is the moment that I live for,

I can smell the ocean air,

Here I am pouring my heart onto these rooftops,

Just a ghost to the world,

That's exactly,

Exactly what I need...

Moonlight joined in time for the chorus  
  
_From up here the city lights burn_

Like a thousand miles of fire

And I'm here to sing this anthem of our dying day...

Harry and WolfStalker sang along now.

For a second I wish the tide will swallow every inch of the city

As you gasp for air tonight

I'd scream this song right in your face if you were here

Cause then I wont miss a beat cause I never,

Never have before...

The rest of the Wolves joined in for the second chorus. The other three listened as their voices mix and flowed out off the roof.

From up here the city lights burn

Like a thousand miles of fire

And I'm here to sing this anthem of our dying day...

Of our dying day

Of our dying day

OF OUR DYING...

For a second I wish the tide would swallow every inch of this city

As your gasped for air tonight...

From up here the city lights burn

Like a thousand miles of fire

And I'm here to sing this anthem of our dying day...

From up here the city lights burn

Like a thousand miles of fire

And I'm here to sing this anthem of our dying day...

From up here the city lights burn

Like a thousand miles of fire

And I'm here to sing this anthem of our dying day...

Of our dying day

Of our dying day

OF OUR DYING...

As the last yelled words finished echoing off the nearby buildings, Harry grinned as he turned to his other friends.

"Welcome to a different world."

END

* * *

More Author's Notes:

Well, I'm not totally thrilled with how that turned out, but I lost my inspiration a while back, but didn't really want you guys hanging with nothing. Still, while I'm not planning on doing any sort of sequel, not that I'm entirely sure anyone's still interested in this by this point, I do want to rewrite it to fix quite a few things. How long that will take, or if the parts I do have done ever get typed up is yet to be seen. If anyone's still interested, I'll make a point to work on it, if not, I'll be off working on A Hero Returns. That's got a rewrite going too by the way, and I swear it's not going to end quite as abruptly as this did. Thanks for sticking in there.

RunningInCircles


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